


The Irrefutable Truth About Vulcans

by ritsuko



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Era, M/M, Playing Doctor, Starfleet Academy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-08 13:49:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ritsuko/pseuds/ritsuko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonard McCoy takes a case study for his thesis project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Irrefutable Truth About Vulcans

"Now breathe in deep." The whiskey honed voice grumbled, and Spock complied. The doctor stood, feet rooted firmly in front of the Vulcan as he held the stethoscope to his chest. Confusion danced over those clean cut yet slightly grizzled features, and he grimaced. "Where's your damn heart beat, man?" 

The Vulcan raised an eyebrow at the older man, and if that face hadn't remained neutral, McCoy would have thought that the man was mocking him. "If I were unconscious, what would you do? There will be times, cadet, when you will know relatively little about the species that you are trying to treat, hence the importance of this exercise."

Bones couldn't help but roll his eyes. Of all the volunteer instructors that he had to get assigned, he was the one that got a pointy eared smart ass. Well, at least it was better than the time with the pregnant Gorn. Irritated, he moved the stethoscope over different area's of the man's chest, before smirking suddenly at an echo in the Vulcan's side. He slowly brought the instrument to Spock's left hand side, and steadied for a strong, if slightly rapid version of a human's heartbeat. 

"Well, tricky, you seem to be normal. Ish." Bones drawled, and Spock stared up at him with chocolate eyes, calculating and cool. 

"And what is the normal heart rate for a Vulcan, doctor?" The raven haired man queried, and the doctor shot him a look. 

"Five added beats per fifteen seconds, sir. To make up for your metabolism." Spock's eyebrow quirked up, obviously impressed, and Bones grinned inwardly. He doesn't always remember the tiny details from his texts, such as the placement of a Vulcan heart, but he'd be damned if the pointy eared bastard one upped him again. 

"Very good." It wasn't often that Commander Spock gave praises to anyone, but for this older man who was a little rough around the edges, something told him he could allow it this once. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several days later, the Vulcan was surprised when the human sat at his table in the mess hall. The doctor slid onto the bench across from him, setting his tray down with a soft thump, looking directly at Spock. No one ever sat with the Vulcan, unless they wanted to discuss subjects, so the only conclusion that he could come to was that Leonard wanted something from him.

But the doctor said nothing, just tucked into his lunch of chicken fried steak, potatoes and a small salad. Spock tried to ignore the other man, continuing to eat his own lunch until the other man finally chewed and swallowed. "You're going to be the subject of my thesis."

Spock stared up at the other man, eyebrow arched. "I beg your pardon?"

McCoy had just taken another bite of food, and stared unflinchingly at the Vulcan while he chewed, finally swallowing. "My med school thesis. I need to base my final thesis on a species other than my own. Guess who I chose?" He stated, before taking a long pull on his drink. The Vulcan's brow furrowed in slight irritation.

"You must choose another. I fear I am too busy to-" He started, but was cut off by the other man.

"Oh no, you see, Doctor Felinx told me that it was an excellent idea. There being so little actually documented on certain Vulcan illnesses and physiology. Especially for someone who has both Vulcan and human genetics." The doctor stabbed a piece of the steak with his fork and swirled some mashed potatoes on it. He then placed his fork in his mouth, eyes sparkling with a challenge. Spock's face remained neutral, but the doctor could see a flash of irritation behind the other man's mahogany eyes. "Lemme tell you, your people are reclusive as hell, bunnies hiding in their little warrens, coveting their information! How are doctors supposed to get anyone treated with that kind of secrecy?"

Spock gritted his teeth behind pursed lips, but allowed no emotion to leak through. "I see. What is required that I do for your thesis?"

"Oh, nothing much. Physicals, lab tests, bloodwork, the usual. Plus you can tell me alllll about Vulcan culture and illnesses you had as a kid and anything else that'll help me out. So, I guess for the next three months, we are gonna be seeing a whole lot of each other." Bones smiled wryly, already considering that his vengeful decision was going to be a whole hell of a lot awkward than he had originally planned. 

The Vulcan's face made no changes. "I see." He brought his soups spoon to his lips and started to rearrange his plans in his mind, carving out time for the med student and his demands. 

"Don't act so excited." Bones rolled his eyes. "You never know. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Even as he said it, both men doubted the credibility of the statement.


End file.
